


We'll Swim Through It

by PolarPenguin



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:36:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarPenguin/pseuds/PolarPenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been recommended to him by a fellow student who had told him that he might find the descriptions of the machinery interesting. </p><p>That was why Combeferre found himself turning around the corner to the library a rainy Saturday.<br/>~~~~~~<br/>When he woke up this morning, he found himself with a craving to read it again. There was no discussion to be had. He needed to read it. </p><p>Therefore Grantaire found himself wandering around the library trying to find the right shelf.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everything by the book

**Author's Note:**

> For [Merilerile](http://merilerile.tumblr.com) and inspired by her [prompt](http://merilerile.tumblr.com/post/61185673844/i-need-the-one-where-enjolras-helps)

It had been recommended to him by a fellow student who had told him that he might find the descriptions of the machinery interesting. He had looked it up online and thought the situation seemed rather interesting. His psychology teacher would probably not object too much either.

That was why Combeferre found himself turning around the corner to the library a rainy Saturday.

* * *

He had seen the movie first. (The original, mind you, he had of course seen the new one, but it had not lived up to his expectations). The story and especially the relationship between the characters had intrigued him. Shortly after he had seen it, he found it in the library. The book had been read in two days - he would have finished it in one if he did not have to go to class (or the meeting, but he does not talk of the meeting. It does no one any good – least of all him) _._ When he woke up this morning, he found himself with a craving to read it again. There was no discussion to be had. He _needed_ to read it.

Therefore Grantaire found himself wandering around the library trying to find the right shelf. 

* * *

Combeferre entered the building cursing himself for not bringing an umbrella. Could it really be that difficult to look out the window before he walked outside? he mentally asked himself. Yes, apparently it was. He took off his hood and once again cursed himself for not bringing an umbrella. He could only see dots. Dots everywhere. He cursed himself again, but this time his genetics. For good order he cursed his parents too for both using glasses. Combeferre was not one to argue with statistics, in this case they had not been in favor of his eyesight. It seemed that raindrops had this weird fascination with glasses, they always wanted to be on the glasses much to Combeferre's annoyance. He knew they would disappear sooner or later, but not completely. They would leave dotted marks and he still would not be able to see clearly. 

The day was so not in his favor. 

At least he had been clever enough to do some research, so he would be able to spend as little time at the library (which hurt him deeply to say, but he was rather keen on getting started as fast as possible). 

Now he only needed to figure out where _Suspense_ was located. It had been a century since he had read that kind of fiction.

* * *

The world was not on his side today. Grantaire had loved the books, but now, of course, he could not for his life remember who the author were. How on Earth was he supposed to find one little book in such a large section? 

Grantaire saw a computer from the corner of his eye and made his way to it. He quickly found the library's search page and spelled the title. 

_Suspense,_ “I already knew that,” he scolded the computer. “It's the author I need to find.”

He clicked the title and there it was. _G_.

* * *

In the span of ten minutes, Combeferre had found romance, crimes, comic books, non-fiction, but it seemed that the one section he needed had disappeared off the Earth. Typical. 

* * *

Grantaire quickly weaved his way through the shelves for once not stopping to look at people. Not that there were many, it was a Saturday and it was raining. Most people had better things to do. Not that he could really imagine what they would be doing instead of losing themselves in another world. 

Actually, a lie, he admitted to himself. His friends were probably communicating via Skype – being clever enough to not go outside when it was pouring. At least Grantaire had brought an umbrella, he was not as brainless as Enjolras liked to make him – trying to come up with more blog posts that would do no difference to the world whatsoever. 

Sighing over their hopeless dreams, he turned down the aisle of suspense. 

* * *

After what seemed appear to be an eternity and countless twists and turns, Combeferre had finally located a sign leading to the right section. He really needed to start reading more fiction, he reminded himself. 

He walked quickly to it, willing himself not think about the downpour outside but rather his comfortable armchair, a warm blanket and hot chocolate. And the book, of course. It would be a nice Saturday, just relaxing with a book. 

Combeferre made it to the aisle. He tilted his head to the right to read the last names of the authors. 

A... No.

B... Nope.

C... Still not.

He kept walking.

* * *

Grantaire started to walk backwards with while tilting his head. 

Z... Far from it.

He continued.

S... Not yet.

N... Closer.

He moved on.

I... Almost there.  
He kept walking.

* * *

G. There! Combeferre looked closer. Ga, where are you?  
He had been told that it was located in the upper half of the shelf, so he made sure to rise to his full height to be able to see better. 

* * *

G. There! Grantaire looked closer. Ga, where are you?  
He had a vague memory of it being placed near the floor and dropped to his knees to see better. 

* * *

His fellow student had told him to look for a blue back. It should really not be that difficult. 

* * *

When he had read it, he loved the colour of the back. A lovely blue colour. He was especially fond of the contrast between the lighter blue of the band and the rest of the book. Now he only needed to find it. Could it really be that difficult? 

* * *

Combeferre saw a book with a blue binding below him, leaned down a bit to check the title and author, he smiled and reached for it. 

* * *

Grantaire saw the exact blue nuance he had longed for all morning above him, rose a bit to check the title and author just to be sure, he smiled when he saw it was the right book, and reached for it. 

* * *

Combeferre used two fingers to grab the head bang to pull it out, while Grantaire used his whole hand to grab the back. 

Combeferre looked down when he felt resistance, as Grantaire looked up for the very same reason. 

“Grantaire?” 

“Combeferre?”


	2. The first staircase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Merilerile](http://merilerile.tumblr.com) and inspired by her [prompt](http://merilerile.tumblr.com/post/61185673844/i-need-the-one-where-enjolras-helps)

Both men stood frozen, neither daring to move even a finger. Grantaire coughed and said, “Fancy meeting you. What brings you here?”

Combeferre smiled dryly. “We _are_ in a library. Not that many options to choose from.”

“Nonsense, my good man. You could be here for books, _obviously_ ,” he smirked. “But a library also offers music, movies, games, peace and quiet, sometimes pretty faces to look at.”

“True, but considering my hand is on a book, I think we can eliminate most of those options, or what do you think?”

His remark made both of them look, respectively, up and down at the book, and how there were about two inches between their hands. Now that Combeferre had brought their attention to it, they could both feel the warmth from the other's hand. In that exact moment they realized that this was the closest they had ever been to each other. Despite calling themselves _friends_ if anybody asked, they had actually never really talked (that is, if you did not count courtesies such as “Merry Christmas”, “Hope you enjoyed your vacation”, “What a weather we have today, huh?” - Combeferre nor Grantaire counted this.) They were simply acquaintances. Acquaintances with common friends who often met.

“Indeed a clever observation,” Grantaire said. “Now that we have established that you are here for the same reason as myself, would you mind removing you hand so I can get my book?”

Combeferre tightened his grip. “No, I suggest _you_ move your hand so I can get _my_ book. Thank you in advance.”

“Your book? I don't think so. _This_ ,” he pulled it down from the shelf and to his chest, “is mine.”

“It really isn't. The library owns it, and thus making it the property of the state.” Combeferre, who had lost his grip of the book when Grantaire pulled it to him, gently took the book from Grantaire's hands and held it in his own.

“If the state owns it, why have you taken it from me?” Grantaire straightened his back while crossing his arms. “Aren't you, as the state, using your power to repress me? Isn't that what your precious blog posts are trying to prevent?”

“This is not repression,” he held the book up. “This is justice.”

“Oh. How? Enlighten me. ”

“I am simply taking back what belongs to me.”

“I thought it was the property of the state.”

“It is, but it's available for all citizens, and therefore-”

Grantaire interrupted him before he could continue, “Therefore it is yours just as much as it's mine. Since I came here first, it's mine. Please give it to me.” He reached out for the book.

“Indeed, but who says you came here first?” Combeferre made no move to give the book to him.

“ _Combeferre_! I don't have time for this battle of logic. I've had an urgent need of reading this, since early morning.”

“A friend recommended it to me long before this morning, and the subject is perfect for an upcoming essay I have in psychology. I think that's a better reason than yours. Don't you?”

“In theory, yes. But you don't understand this _need_ I have. It's quite remarkable, actually.” Grantaire nodded to himself to convince Combeferre of just how much he told the truth. “Wait, why would you write an essay about _The Poseidon Adventure_? Isn't that a bit odd?”

Combeferre was taken back a bit. “Well, haven't you read it? Now I haven't, yet,” he quickly added and tightened his grip on the book, as Grantaire began to move to get his hands on the book. “But it sounds like there are many psychological aspects to it. The different people's reactions to their life being turned upside down. Excuse the pun,” he smiled sheepishly.

“You have humour! I didn't know that. Albeit we can work on it, it's not as great as mine of course,” he moved his hand atop his heart and straightened his back even more to a ridiculous pose.

Combeferre tried to conceal his laughter, “Of course I have humour. Everyone does.”

“It's just not everyone that has great humour,” Grantaire interjected.

“So you're saying I have great humour? Just before you said we could work on it,” he challenged.

“You mistake my comment to be about you,” he poked Combeferre's chest with a finger. “I was merely talking about my own humour. There's plenty of work with yours, but all in due time. We have a fair starting point, so it can't possibly end in a complete disaster.”

Combeferre crossed his arms. “Plenty of work you say, I don't believe I have time for that, sorry. Remember, I have to finish an essay on the human psyche.”

“You haven't even begun it yet,” Grantaire emphasized. “So I'll take this-” he grabbed the book, “-and read it. I am a fast reader and you can get it as soon as I've finished it, what do you think?”

“That could work. It really could.” Grantaire beamed and started to move past Combeferre to check the book out.

“Except-” Combeferre took hold of the upper part of Grantaire's arm. “Except we both know how long it can take for this library to get the books back on the shelves or get them to the people who, as I would probably do, have reserved them. And that's far from ideal when I have to give in my thesis in a couple of weeks. That's too soon when we're talking about this library.”

“You could just borrow it from _me_ ,” Grantaire rationalized.

“True, but won't you just hoard it and go all Gollum on it?”

“It is my Precious. Shh,” he whispered to the book. “Don't listen to the crazy man. He doesn't know anythings about us. He is stupid, yes, Precious.”

Combeferre laughed. “Do you often impersonate Gollum? But seriously, if you would really let me borrow it, it'd be great. Thank you.”

Grantaire closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. “You're right. As always. I would keep it for myself.” His shoulders fell as he handed the book over. “Fine, I hate to say it but you win. Take it,” he waved the book in front of Combeferre's face. “Take it from me - if your conscious can bear it, you evil creature of a man. Not that it's breaking my heart to part with it, no! not at all. Don't think of me. Just go. I can handle it.” For good measure he added a sob.

Combeferre smiled and accepted the book. “It's a wonder you're not taking drama-classes.”

“It's because there's too much _drama_ in them,” Grantaire laughed.

Combeferre just looked at him before breaking into laughter too. “Great humour you have indeed.”

“Well, you should check that out,” Grantaire pointed to the book. “And get started on it, so you can finish it quickly.”

“Then let's go,” Combeferre said as he turned on his heel and started walking towards the self-check out. When he realized Grantaire was not following him, he looked back at him and asked, “Aren't you coming? I assumed you would make sure I wasn't go to molest your Precious.”

Grantaire seemed to examine him closely, before he slowly nodded. “Yes, I better do that.” He moved to Combeferre's side as he began to walk again. “Someone has to make sure Precious is kept in a dry place on the way to your apartment.”

Combeferre looked down at himself and shrugged. “It was raining.”

“I would never have thought that a clever man, such as yourself, could forget about the invention of the umbrella. It's quite handy.”

Grantaire caught with a wry grin his companions eye who smiled back at him and quoted: “»A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.«”

Grantaire sent him a quizzical look. “Is that another way of saying you forgot one?”

Combeferre coughed and pointedly looked everywhere but Grantaire.“So you think I'm clever?”

They arrived at the self-check out with Grantaire laughing before he said, “Yes I do. If we forget how surprisingly bad you are at changing subjects.”

He leaned on the wall besides the machine as Combeferre stood before it and found his library card in his purse before he swiped it through the card reader and entered his PIN code.

“Just think of all the classes you're taking, and you don't even need- what a third of them?” Before Combeferre got a chance to answer he continued, ”It's difficult enough to read medicine, and you're just making it even harder? Why, one could be tempted to ask. I believe I might have an answer.”

Combeferre removed the book from the plate when it had finished registering his loan.

“Do tell, I'm curious,” he prompted as he packed the book in his bag.

“You,” Grantaire pointed at him, “are thirsting for knowledge.”

Combeferre swung his bag on his shoulder and asked, “Why are you saying that like it's a bad thing?” before he started to walk towards the exit.

Grantaire shrugged and fell into step with him. “Usually it's not. Now? Your curiosity is keeping me from reading my book.”

“I thought we agreed that it wasn't yours. Besides now I have it. Don't worry, I'll try to finish it quickly,” he added after seeing the glare Grantaire sent him.

“You better,” he grumbled in response.

Combeferre only smiled in reply. They walked in silence, both aware of the awkwardness of being with one whom neither really knew.

“You're that way, right?” Grantaire pointed to the right as they exited the building.

“Yeah. And you're that way?” Combeferre nodded his head in the opposite direction with only a hint of his uncertainty creeping into his voice.

Grantaire nodded, and said, “Well, this was fun. Finish it quickly will you?”

“I already told you I would,” Combeferre answered, and shifted on his feet. “I better get going then. To finish this,” he vaguely gestured to his bag.

With a quick “goodbye” and a “see you later” their ways parted.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The book: The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico. I can warmly recommend it. It's interesting in so many ways, psycologically, technically, and well written – and it has quite a few surprises. 
> 
> The original movie from 1972 (I adore the symbolsim of the destination (Athens) and the ship (Poseidon) – humans, humans, humans, when will you ever learn? Hybris)
> 
> The new movie from 2006 it is not great to say the least, but it does have better effects than the old
> 
> Precious is of course a reference to Lord of the Rings  
> Quote by James Joyce


End file.
